The world trembled. As if it were suffering from a great earthquake, the earth ruptured and broke apart, forming long canyons. The entire rainforest shook, whole trees being felled and falling into the abyss inside the cracks, never to be seen again. The ecosystem was changing. Liam could tell that it was as if the Tutorial Zone was moving at a rapid speed. That was when it happened.

The moving plane immediately stopped. Seconds after, the sound and the shockwave hit Liam’s location. With an enormous crash, the wind wall shook the trees around the Ruin, taking the smaller ones down. In the midst of it all, Liam tried to steady his footing, putting his new footwork skills to good use. Running down the stairway, he rushed to the Ruin’s entrance and arrived just in time to see the cracks on the ground widening because of the impact. From within them, a black fog rose, slowly taking the shape of various monsters.

“What the hell?”

Wherever the fog touched, the ground became dark, the already ashen trees around the Ruin crumbling to dust. Liam’s first instinct was to avoid it. If it could damage the environment that much, there was no telling what it could do to the human body. The second was to coat himself in Aura. He walked through the Ruin’s entrance to the outside, eyeing the scene around him. Most of the trees around him had been destroyed, breaking the spiral-like pattern. The number of fog monsters kept increasing as the cracks on the ground unceasingly leaked the mysterious black mist. One of them turned to Liam.

The fog that made up its body solidified, making it look like a monster with skin black as pitch. The unknown creature then ran at Liam, making no noise, Its open but silent mouth was unexpectedly eerie. In spite of that, the monster was easily dispatched. Liam’s spear went right through its head in an instant, before he pulled it back using an Aura thread. He was trying to get more used to utilizing the move. A problem soon reached his perception.

‘I didn’t get XP.’

Killing the fog monster awarded him no System notification or reward, even though it seemed to be as dangerous as any of the creatures Liam had previously killed. He was certain that the solid mist that made up its claws would have cut through his defenses if he didn’t circulate his Aura. This made Liam reach a single conclusion.

‘They’re here to push us.’

Simply put, the monsters had been created with the sole purpose of harassing them. Killing them was a waste of time and energy, but they were dangerous nonetheless. As he cut through the fog creatures, he kept thinking. Outside of the Tutorial Zone, was it the same? If so, then everything made sense. He wasn’t sure yet, but this would certainly make the intelligent species fight one another. If the cracks covered every territory participating in the Convergence and the most efficient method of obtaining XP was to kill other living things, then it was only natural that different species would start engaging in war in order to become stronger. However, that brought another question to light.

‘Why?’

He knew that many would look for XP simply because they wanted to get stronger. Power was addictive. On the other hand, many others would strive for peace. The fog monsters were dangerous and a bother, sure, but an organized army would be able to cleanse a territory of them. With enough work, it was possible to keep an area peaceful and free of their harassment. Liam knew the creator wouldn’t be satisfied with that. So, what was it that pushed the other species to keep fighting one another?

‘Of course, that’s only if my conjecture that there are other intelligent species is at all correct.’

Finally, his immediate surroundings were free of the creatures. He had almost automatically mowed them down as they appeared, “killing” them faster than they could spawn. At that moment, a voice intruded into his mind.

It was Cassandra. It appeared that she was the first one to contact Yichen in order to reach him.

‘I know. I’m on my way back.’

Liam frowned. While he had predicted this situation, it was still unsettling to receive confirmation that the fog could turn into much more dangerous creatures than the ones he’d fought. Liam rushed through the forest, taking in how much it had changed. The fallen trees were already being eroded by the fog, while the cracks on the ground had altered much of the surrounding topography. Those were not what Liam was focusing on, however. He had noticed two very important things.

First, living creatures did not seem to be affected by the fog. On the way to the camp, he had seen several monsters walking around on the ground, not caring about the fog in the least, which led him to his second observation. The fog monsters did not seem to display any aggressiveness towards the living animals. An entire pack of Stalking Terrors had walked right in the middle of a group of mist monsters but hadn’t been attacked at all. If Liam had tried to do the same thing, he was sure the monsters would have tried to tear him to shreds.

‘They’re completely artificial.’

Liam leaped from tree to tree, taking advantage of the ones not yet felled by the corrosive fog. That was when he saw it.

“What the fuck?”

He couldn’t help but let out a curse. In the distance, he could make out a great active volcano, spewing lava from its crater. Interestingly enough, no amount of gas or ash was being spewed out alongside it. It was as if it was the mouth of a flame-breathing demon, existing solely for that purpose. Around it, the sky was dyed bright red, merging with the blue sky over the rainforest gradually. He could also see other stone structures covered in fire surrounding the volcano.

‘Is that another Tutorial Zone?’

If so, then wasn’t it much harsher than his own? Who the hell would be able to survive in such an environment? Taking the time to look at it carefully, Liam stopped rushing through the trees, instead climbing to the top of one of the tallest ones. The strange absence of the bird monsters was quickly thrown out of his mind. At the very top of the tree’s crown, he had a privileged view of the faraway burning zone. It was only then that he noticed it was also covered in cracks, the same fog seeping out of them. To his right, he could also vaguely make out a gigantic mountain, vaguely shaped like a sword. It was by far the largest mountain he had ever seen.

An ominous feeling welled up within Liam’s heart. The situation was quickly spiraling out of control. No matter how big the Tutorial Zones were, there were now billions of humans running around. He guessed he and his allies would soon meet new groups of people. On that note, he descended the tree and hurried to their rescue. With his improved footwork and circulating his Aura to the limit, Liam’s speed had reached unprecedented heights. While it had taken him several hours to reach the Ruin, it only took him two hours to follow the way back. He arrived at the camp just in time to see the fruits of Cassandra’s work.

The hunters expertly fought the waves of fog monsters, hacking and slashing while their comrades-in-arms protected them. Already used to fighting alongside one another due to the hunts and Cassandra’s training, the men and women were winning the battle. Despite that, the number of dead bodies on the floor wasn’t small. Liam could clearly see the reason why.

HISS

In the middle of the camp, a giant black snake swung its tail and bit at the hunters. While it couldn’t be considered a behemoth, it was definitely one level above what the hunters were used to fighting. In fact, it was slightly more powerful than an Alpha Stalking Terror. Fighting it were tens of warriors, Cassandra amongst them. They stepped over the bodies of their fallen companions, screaming in determination, but to no avail. The serpent was supported by the endless waves of fog monsters, while Cassandra and the Skiá were the only ones powerful enough to keep the snake in check. Unlike Andrew, however, Cassandra was not powerful enough to fight it alone.

Liam jumped into the battlefield, immediately throwing his spear at the snake. The creature froze for a second before lowering its head, making the spear miss its target. Nevertheless, Liam was still not done. Using an Aura thread attached to the weapon, he pulled it back and threw it again. Having found him, the snake hissed once more before moving to the side. The spear soundlessly slashed into the side of its body, creating a large gash. Even so, no blood was drawn. The serpent seemed to be wholly unbothered by the wound.